A 2-5, 0-1 record is not exactly where the ETSU men’s basketball team thought they would be this time of year, but come Friday, they are hoping they can improve that with a win over a Division-I opponent.
The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (3-3) are coming to Johnson City, where the Bucs are hoping that they not only improve their record, but also tie up the contest between the two teams. As of now, the Golden Eagles are ahead by one game in the series, 33-32.
Since 1923 these two teams have been meeting in non-conference match-ups, ETSU leads the streak at two consecutive wins.
Last year when these two non-conference rivals met, the Bucs were able to pull out a win, 77-70 to break the Golden Eagles 23-home game-winning streak.
Leading the way for the Bucs was Ben Rhoda with 19 points and nine rebounds, followed by Zakee Wadood who scored a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Jerald Fields was also a force to be reckoned with as he tallied up 14 points on his way to 1000 career points.
With Wadood and Fields gone it is anyone’s game this time around.
For Tennessee Tech, Leigh Gayden lead the way with 17 points, followed closely behind was Willie Jenkins with 16.
The breakdown of the Golden Eagles line-up this season consists of two seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen.
The Golden Eagles also are having a tough season, sitting with a 3-3 overall record, and they have not played any Ohio Valley Conference games yet.
Tech has already played some tough games this season, against Appalachian State, Kentucky and Ole Miss. Senior forward Willie Jenkins has put up some big numbers for his team, 32 coming against Virginia Intermont, 24 against Appalachian State and recording a double-double against Asbury with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior forward Derek Stribling led the team against Asbury College with 19 points. Stribling also recorded double digits in the games against Appalachian State and Virginia Intermont with 15 and 14 points respectively.
The Bucs are coming off of a tough loss against Central Michigan, 88-77.
Senior guard James Anthony led the charge with a season high 19 points in his 22 minutes of play off the bench. Tim Smith and Ben Rhoda tallied double-digit scores with 15 and 12 respectively.
“We’re out of sink, we’ve got to sure things up and we’ve got to become a better defensive team,” ETSU coach Murry Bartow said.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. Friday night in the Memorial Center where both teams will be looking their first Division-I team. TTU is coming off their third NAIA win against Bryan College on Wednesday.

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